Romanian oil and gas company OMV Petrom, a subsidiary of Austrian OMV Group, announced that it will invest 60 million euros in the new facility for converting liquid petroleum gas (LPG) into petrol. It will be built within the Petrobrazi refinery and should be operational in 2019.
The new facility will allow a part of the production on LPG components of up to 50,000 tons to be converted into petrol and middle distillates using a catalytic process. The total capacity of Petrobrazi refinery will remain 4.5 million tons per year.
According to the statement from the company, the new facility is based on the Polyfuel innovative process, a technology developed by French company Axens. The project includes the construction of three main reactors, several columns and pumps, and the facility will be designed for high energy efficiency.
Anthony Morgan, member of OMV Petrom’s Executive Board, said that the implementation of this project, which uses innovative technologies to increase the production of petrol and diesel, will give the company a competitive advantage through increased output of high value products and more flexible production structure.
Since its privatization in 2005, OMV Petrom invested over 1.2 billion euros in its Petrobrazi refinery, the second largest in Romania. Out of the total amount, some 600 million euros were invested in modernization projects, which took place between 2010 and 2014.
OMV Petrom achieved a net profit in the amount of 232 million euros in 2016, after the loss of 152 million euros in the previous year. The majority owner of OMV Petrom is Austrian OMV Group with 51.01 % of the shares, the Romanian state holds 20.64 % stake, while Fondul Proprietatea has 12.6 %. In October 2016, the company was listed on the Bucharest Stock and Exchange and the London Stock Exchange.
